The Milwaukee Bucks made their biggest move of the offseason early, sending Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat after deciding the championship window had closed. After a 32-50 season, Milwaukee chose to reset rather than keep forcing a roster that had already started to fall apart.
That trade, along with the draft picks of Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, gave the Bucks part of their answer. But not all of it.
The next issue is still hanging over the roster: what exactly happens with Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma?
Turner’s place is especially cloudy. He is coming off one of the toughest seasons of his 11-year career, putting up 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
Even so, he still blocked shots at a high level and knocked down 38.3% of his threes. The problem is that Milwaukee also brought in Kel'el Ware from Miami, and Ware is only 21 years old.
He looks like a future centerpiece at center, which makes Turner’s role much harder to define.
Keeping both big men would give the Bucks two rim protectors who can also stretch the floor, but it also muddies the logic of a rebuild after trading Antetokounmpo. Turner’s contract is another complication. He has three years and roughly $84 million left on the four-year, $108.9 million deal he signed with Milwaukee a year ago, and that salary makes him tough to move after a down year.
Kuzma is in a different spot, but the uncertainty is just as real. His expiring deal is worth roughly $20 million, which makes him easier to trade than Turner.
Milwaukee acquired him in the deal that sent Khris Middleton to Washington, but the fit never fully clicked. He has averaged 13.5 points with the Bucks and became more efficient this past season, yet his production still hasn’t translated into the kind of impact Milwaukee wanted.
At first, the Bucks hoped he could provide the scoring punch Middleton left behind. Instead, his role shifted into more of a rotational 3-and-D look as the team kept searching for something that fit.
Milwaukee’s recent moves only sharpen the issue. The Bucks added Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Ament in the draft and re-signed Ousmane Dieng, giving them a young forward group that also includes Jaquez Jr. as the likely starter, with Ament and Dieng still developing. That leaves a 31-year-old Kuzma in a strange middle ground, especially after a season in which his play did not consistently lead to meaningful minutes.
The Bucks have already explored the market. During June, NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported that Turner and Kuzma were available, and he also said, “Myles Turner is available. The Bucks are definitely working through and trying to asses the trade market for all of Tyler Herro, Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma”
Still, no deal has materialized. That leaves Milwaukee with a roster question it has yet to settle: whether Turner and Kuzma are part of the next version of the team or just pieces waiting for the right trade. The Bucks can keep them, and the veteran presence would matter on a young roster, but the franchise still has to decide what those two are really doing there if they remain on the roster by opening night.
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For Milwaukee, the most interesting part is the way these discussions can ripple beyond one roster and one target. Watsons situation has become part of a larger chain of negotiations, and if the sides never land on a long-term arrangement, his status could remain fluid well into the future. For a Bucks front office that has spent plenty of time hunting for size, length and defensive versatility on the wing, it is the kind of ongoing subplot worth watching as the offseason edges toward camp. [Read more 🡒]
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For Milwaukee, the appeal is obvious enough. Watson is the kind of athletic, versatile piece teams covet, especially if the Bucks are trying to stay flexible while adding younger talent around their core. The challenge is that any deal would have to make sense for Denvers books as well as Milwaukees roster, and those layers of financial and personnel pressure can make even a promising trade market move slowly. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Herro Already Has Bucks Fans Talking After Giannis Trade
Tyler Herro is already giving Bucks fans something to chew on before his first season in Milwaukee even tips off. Acquired from Miami in the blockbuster deal that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. to the Heat, Herro has stepped into one of the strangest storylines of the offseason, one that instantly changed the look and feel of the Bucks roster and the conversation around the team.
When asked about the craziest trade of the summer, Herro leaned into the moment with a joke about the very deal that brought him to Milwaukee, and the reaction around him was immediate. Fans and teammates took notice, and Herro has also made it clear he is looking forward to playing in front of his hometown crowd in Wisconsin, adding another layer to a move that already feels loaded with intrigue. [Read more 🡒]